Top carrier system for drapery panels



31, 19 8 MOCK ETAL 3,419,063

TOP CARRIER SYSTEM FOR DRAPERY PANELS Filed Jan. 16. 1967 Sheet of 2Pie. 1.

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/0 vJO5EPl-l BAA/IVER By EDWARD D. OER/Au Arvneusy Dev}; 31, 1968 E.MOCK ET AL 3,419,063

TOP CARRIER SYSTEM FOR DRAPERY PANELS Filed Jan. 16. 1967 Sheet 2 of 2 In \\\\\\\\\\\\i iiliiiii IIII'MIIIIIII 4 INVENTORS DONALD E. MOCK,JOSEPH BANNER.

EDWARD D. O'BR/AA/ A TTOE/VE) United States Patent 3 419 063 TOP CARRIERSYSTEM EOR DRAPERY PANELS Donald E. Mock, Covina, and Joseph Banner,Whittier, Califi, assignors to Anjac Plastics, Inc., El Monte, Calif.

Filed Jan. 16, 1967, Ser. No. 609,422 Claims. (Cl. 160199) ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE Drapery panels are panels which are hinged together onupright axes and are movable from an extended position where they closean opening to an accordian folded position away from the opening. Thetop carriers on these panels permit motion across the opening and permitthe accordian folding action of the panels. The top carriers comprisehangers of uniform cross section so that they may be extrouded. Thehangers are pivoted to overhead trolleys. The hangers are hingedtogether by means of hinges of uniform cross section and the hinges aresecured into the hangers to permit the necessary accordian folding. Thisabstract is not considered to define the invention.

BACKGROUND Closures for openings are well known. Closures for windows toclose out the view fall into several different categories. Curtains andshades are well known. Furthermore, Venetian blinds have been used forsome time. Venetian blinds have the advantage of being partially openedto permit limited ventilation and light transmittal, and can also becompletely raised to permit unobstructed vision or passage. However,Venetian blinds have the disadvantage of being incapable of being fullyclosed. Thus, they do not completely shut out light, even in the fullyclosed position. Another type of closure falls in the general heading ofdrapery. Past drapery has been made of textile materials which has beenhung by its top edge to runners on a track. Moving the runners along thetrack moves the drapery in front of or away from the opening. Suchdraperies have a great advantage from the esthetic viewpoint, but againare not opaque to light or to the movement of air. Room dividerscomprising hinged doors are well known. However, these are of such sizethat they are not conveniently usable in the usual closure windows, orin many other locations because of their bulkiness. The draperystructure of this invention more nearly resembles such foldingstructures than it does the well-known textile drapery.

SUMMARY This invention is directed to a top carrier system for draperypanels. The drapery panels to which the top carrier system of thisinvention is applicable comprise a plurality of relatively rigid uprightpanels which are hinged to each other. When the panels are extended,they lie generally in the same plane and can act as a separator. Thepanels can be accordian folded which reduces the overall length of thedrapery structure so that the spaces formerly divided are not nowseparated by the panels. In order to provide this extension and foldingmovement, the drapery panels must be properly supported at their tops. Atrack is provided and trolleys engage the track. Each of the panels hasits own suspension bracket by which the associated drapery panel issupported. Each suspension bracket is pivotally supported upon itstrolley to permit the accordian folding motion of the panels.Preferably, each suspension bracket comprises a channel which is open inthe downward direction. A drapery panel is inserted into this channeland is retained therein. Retention is preferably by means ofinterengagement between 3,419,063 Patented Dec. 31, 1968 the suspensionbracket and the panel. Furthermore, hinges are preferably providedbetween adjacent suspension brackets to control the accordian folding ofthe drapery structure.

It is an object of this invention to provide a drapery structure whichcomprises a top carrier system for drapery panels of such nature thatthe top carrier system permits and controls the accordian folding andextension of drapery panels depending therefrom. It is a further objectof this invention to provide a top carrier system wherein a plurality oftrolleys are movably mounted on a track and a suspension bracket ispivotally mounted upon each trolley, the suspension bracket beingadapted to support a drapery panel. It is still another object of thisinvention to provide a top carrier system which is economic ofmanufacture and of long trouble-free life so that it may be readily usedin a large number of applications. Other objects and advantages of thisinvention will become apparent from a study of the following portion ofthis specification, the claims and the attached drawmgs.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevational view, withparts broken away, of a drapery structure employing the top carriersystem for drapery panels of this invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front elevational view, partly in section, showingfurther detail of the top carrier system and the associated draperypanels.

FIG. 3 is a section taken generally along the line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a section taken generally along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a section taken generally along the line 55 of FIG. 2, showingone embodiment of the hinge structure between adjacent suspensionbrackets.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5, showing a preferred embodiment ofthe hinge structure.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 5, showing still another embodiment ofthe hinge structure between the suspension brackets.

DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings, a drapery structure as generallyindicated at 10 and drapery structure 10 incorporates the top carriersystem for drapery panels of this invention. The top carrier system isgenerally indicated at 12. First considering the drapery panels, threepanels within a series of panels are indicated at 14, 16 and 18. Thesepanels are hinged together by means of panel hinges 20 and 22. Referringparticularly to FIG. 4, drapery panels 16 and 18 have central panels 24and 26 which determine the width of the drapery panels. These centralpanels are preferably fiat and planar. Hinge lugs 28 and 30 arerespectively formed at the edges of central panels 24 and 26, it beingunderstood that similar hinge lugs are provided along the entire lengthof each one of the panels, along each of the edges. Hinge lug 28 hasretainer flanges 32 and 34 thereon while hinged lug 30 has retainerflanges 36 and 39 thereon. These retainer flanges extend toward thecenter of the drapery panel parallel to and spaced from the respectivecentral panels. As is seen, one retainer flange is positioned on eachside of the central panel. These retainer flanges define slots on eachside and at each edge of the central panel. If desired, decorativepanels may be inserted in the slots and may be retained by anyconvenient means. This structure is shown in more detail in TsuhakoPatent No. 3,277,952 granted Oct. 11, 1966.

Hinge lugs 28 and 30 respectively have longitudinal openings 40 and 42therethrough. These openings are generally circular in the embodimentshown. The outer edge of each of the drapery panels has a slot openinginto these 3 longitudinal openings. Slots 44 and 46 are shown. Theopenings 40 and 42 can be of any desired configuration, as long as theyare provided with narrow slots.

Hinge 22 is shown in considerable detail in FIG. 4. Each of the hingesis identical to hinge 22, except that the hinges are alternatelyarranged between the drapery panels. As is seen in FIG. 2, body 48 ispositioned toward the viewer while in hinge the body is positioned awayfrom the viewer, to provide for accordian folding. The hinges arepreferably made of highly plasticized polyvinyl chloride, highlyplasticized polyvinyl acetate or highly plasticized copolymers of thesemixtures. These materials provide a highly flexible, elastomericmaterial suitable for this use. Other materials may have the desiredflexible properties to permit them to be used. Body 48 is relativelythick and therefore not particularly flexible. Flanges 50 and 52 areintegrally formed with the body and relatively thin so as to a highlyflexible, in the order of flexibility of thin leather. The ends offlanges 50 and 52 respectively carry beads 54 and 56 which extend alongthe length of the hinge. Beads 54 and 56 are of such size as to fitwithin the longitudinal openings and 42, while flanges and 52 aresufliciently thin to fit through slots 44 and 46. The hinges are formedin a normally U shaped configuration, with flanges 50 and 52substantially parallel to each other. Therefore, when stressed to theposition shown in FIG. 4 they have an internal stress which urges thedrapery panels 16 and 18 to lie parallel to each other. However, thisforce is relatively small, and merely helps in providing force in thecorrect direction to cause accordian folding.

Primarily considering FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, track 58 provides rails 60 and62 which movably support the top carrier system 12. Trolley 64 comprisestruck 66 which carries wheels 68 and 70. The Wheels engage upon therails to provide for a longitudinal movement of top carrier 12 along thelength of the track 58. Truck 66 is preferably of stamped metal and is Ushaped with the bottom of the U extending downward. Clamp 72 forms partof trolley 64 and is pivotally secured to truck 66 by means of pivot pin74. Pivot pin 74 thus lets clamp 72 turn upon the vertical axis of thepin. Clamp 72 is generally U shaped with its base pivoted upon pin 74and with its arms extended downward. The arms terminate in inwardlyextending flanges 76 and 78.

Hangers 80, 82, and 84 respectively carry drapery panels 14, 16, and 18.The hangers are of uniform cross section so that they can be extruded.As is seen particularly well in FIG. 3, hanger 82 has grooves 86 and 88into which flanges 76 and 78 can be inserted. Preferably, the flanges 76and 78 are impressed into the material of hanger 82 to preventlongitudinal movement of clamp 72 with respect to hanger 82. Theremainder of hanger 82 is substantially in the form of a channel havinga downwardly extending front flange 90 and a downwardly extending rearflange 92. These flanges are substantially parallel to each other toleave slot 94 between them. Front flange 90 is substantially planar andextends down to the top of drapery panel 16. Rear flange 92 has dividerflange extending inward to divide the interior slot into upper slot 94and lower slot 98. Rear flange 92 terminates in engagement hook whichextends toward front flange 90 and upwardly, as is seen in FIG. 3.

As is seen in FIG. 2, the upper outside corners of drapery panel 16 arecut away so that only the central portion of central panel 24 extendsupward past the lower edge of front flange 90. The central portion ofcentral panel 24 extends upward against the inside of front flange 90into the slot formed between flanges 90 and 92. It may, if desired,extend substantially all the way to the top of that slot. Retention isachieved by stamping the retention tabs 102 and 104 out of the plane ofcentral panel 24. These retention tabs remain attached to the centralpanel along their top edges and extend away from the central panel attheir bottom edges. As is seen in FIG. 3, retention tab 102 engages overengagement hook 100 to prevent downward movement of the drapery panelout of hanger 82. However, the resiliency of retention tabs 102 and 104permits the drapery panel to be inserted into its hanger by upwardthrust of the drapery panel to cause the retention tabs to snap over theassociated engagement hook. By this means, the drapery panel ispermanently installed within its hanger.

Carrier hinges 106 and 108 are respectively positioned between hangers80 and 82, and hangers 82 and 84. The embodiment of the carrier hingeshown in FIG. 2 is shown in section in FIG. 5. However, this is not thepreferred embodiment of the hinge, but is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2to simplify the showing in those figures. As is seen in FIGS. 2 and 5,hinge 108 comprises identical hinge halves 110 and 112. These hingehalves are pivoted together by hinge pin 114 which is positioned in apivot hole in hinge boss 116. Spacer washer 117 is located between hingehalves 110 and 112 and on pin 114. This spaces the halves so they arealigned to enter slots 94 and 98. The washer is the same thickness asdivider flange 96.

Securing tail 118 is formed as part of the hinge half 110 while securingtail 120 is formed as part of the hinge half 112. Stop 122 is formed onhinge boss 116 and limits the opening of the hinge to the point wheresecuring tails 118 and 120 are aligned with each other. The limitposition is defined by stop 122 engaging the end of hanger 84. A similarstop on the other hinge half engages hanger 82. Securing tail 118 ispositioned in upper slot 94, above divider flange 96. Securing tail 120is inserted into hanger 84 into a space corresponding to lower slot 98,between divider flange 96 and engagement hook 100. Thus, the hinge isretained in position. Even though the hinge does not stop opening of thedrapery panels until they lie in the same plane, closing can beaccomplished because of the internal stresses in hinges 20 and 22 whichurge the drapery panels in a direction for accordian folding.

In order to prevent any question about proper folding, carrier hinge 124is preferred. As shown in FIG. 6, hinge 124 comprises hinge halves 126and 128 which are again identical. Similarly, the securing tails onhinge halves 126 and 128 are inserted into the appropriate slots in theadjacent hangers. However, stop 130 limits the opening of hinge 124 to150".

In the embodimentshown in FIG. 7, hinge 132 is shown. Carrier hinge 132comprises identical hinge halves 134 and 136. These hinge halves havesecuring tails which are insertable into the appropriate slots andadjacent hangers. The hinge halves are provided with stops 138 whichlimit Opening of the hinge to 135. There may be decorative occasions inwhich such limited opening is desirable. It can be readily seen fromFIGS. 5, 6 and 7 that the angle of the stop determines the openinglimit, and the stop angle can be chosen to suit particular needs.

The above described top carrier system for drapery panels provides aneconomic and sturdy structure. Proper support is provided for each ofthe drapery panels and hinges control the relationship between adjacenthangers and adjacent drapery panels. Furthermore, while the struc tureis of economic construction and easily assembled, and most of the partscan be extruded from polymer composition material, its parts are sointerrelated that it is a sturdy construction and has a long,trouble-free life.

This invention having been described in its preferred embodiment, it isclear that it is susceptible to numerous modifications and embodimentswithin the ability of those skilled in the art and without the exerciseof the inventive faculty. Accordingly, the scope of this invention isdefined by the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A drapery and carrier system which includes:

a horizontal extending track,

a plurality of seperate Wheeled trolleys, each of said trolleys beingsupported by its wheels on said track so as to extend downwardly fromsaid track,

a clamp means pivotally mounted on each of said trolleys so as to extenddownwardly therefrom and so as to be capable of being rotated withrespect to the trolley upon which it is located in a vertical axis,

each of said clamp means including an engaging means located at itslower end,

a plurality of hangers, each of said hangers having a groove means and achannel defined by front and rear flanges and an internal hook extendinginto the channel from the rear wall thereof,

each of said hangers being located on one of said clamp means so as tobe supported thereby by the engaging means on the one of said clampmeans extending into the groove means on the hanger,

said hangers when supported by said clamp means being located so thatthe channels within the said hanger are downwardly directed and so thatsaid front and rear flanges extend vertically,

a plurality of vertical drapery panels, each of said panels includingretention tab means extending outwardly from the top thereof and beingof such a dimension as to be capable of being inserted within saidchannels past the hooks extending into said channels,

each of said panels having the top thereof extending into the channel inone of said hangers in a position in which the retention tab meanslocated on the top engages the hook within the channel so as to supportthe panel so held in a vertical position,

hinge means connecting adjacent ends of adjacent of said panels so thatsaid panels may be folded with respect to one another by said clampmeans rotating with respect to said trolleys as said trolleys are movedtowards one another.

2. A drapery and carrier system as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said engaging means are secured within said groove means so that saidclamp means do not move with respect to said hanger means. 3. A draperyand carrier system as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said hangers being of the same widths as said panels, and said groovemeans, said channels and said hooks extend between the ends of saidhangers. 4. A drapery and carrier system as claimed in claim 3including:

stop means located on said hinge means, said stop means limiting theopening of said hinge means. 5. A drapery and carrier system as claimedin claim 1 wherein:

said engaging means are secured within said groove means so that saidclamp means do not move with respect to said hanger means, said hangersbeing of the same width as said panels,

and said groove means, said channels and said hooks extend between theends of said hangers, and stop means located on said hinge means, saidstop means limiting the opening of said hinge means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,717,033 9/1955 Breslow et al.-199 X 2,746,540 5/1956 Dixon 160-206 3,137,027 6/1964 Birkle. 3,167,1111/1965 Harris 160-199 X 3,277,952 10/1966 Tsuhako 160-183 X 3,331,4277/1967 Colombo 160-199 DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner. DENNISL. TAYLOR, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 160-206

